Isaac Updike

Isaac Updike
Updike at the 2023 World Championships
Personal information
Born (1992-03-21) 21 March 1992 (age 32)
Ketchikan, Alaska, United States
Employer(s)Under Armour (2023-present)
Nike (2021-2023)
Hoka (2018-2021)
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event3000 metres steeplechase
Club
  • Under Armor Mission Run Dark Sky (2023-present)
  • Empire Elite Track Club (2021-2023)
  • Hoka New Jersey-New York Track Club (2018-2021)
  • Team Runner Eugene (2015-2018)
Achievements and titles
Personal best3000 m s'chase: 8:17.47 (Nice 2023)

Isaac Updike (born 21 March 1992) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He represented the United States at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.[1]

Athletics career

Born in Ketchikan, Alaska, he has a twin brother called Lucas. Both competed for Ketchikan High School where they ran cross country and played soccer.

Eastern Oregon

Enrolling Eastern Oregon University in 2010, he joined the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers track and field and cross country teams as a walk on.[2] Throughout his time at EOU, he set three new school records in the indoor 3000 m, 5000 m and 3000 m steeplechase, was a ten-time NAIA All-American and won the 2013 NAIA title in the steeplechase.

Professional

2016

After graduating from EOU, Updike moved to Eugene, Oregon, joining Team Runner Eugene and working part-time at Dick's Sporting Goods to support his running, setting the goal of qualifying for the 2016 United States Olympic Trials in the 3000 metres steeplechase. In May 2016, he ran a PB of 8:31.42, qualifying him for the trials. At the Olympic Trials, he made the final and would ultimately place 12th.[3]

2018

At the 2018 USA Championships, Updike ran a personal best of 8:25.8 in the first round, the fastest time of the heats. In the final, he would place 14th. Later that year, he moved to New York, signing with Hoka and becoming a member of the Hoka New Jersey-New York Track Club based in Westchester County, New York.

Updike at the 2019 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships

2019

In 2019, he ran the 2 mile at the USA Indoor Championships, placing eleventh in 8:39.03. At the USA Outdoor Championships, he placed eighth in the steeplechase, his highest placement yet at a US championship.

2021

Following the dissolution of the Hoka NJ-NY TC in 2021, Updike joined the newly-formed Empire Elite Track Club, which retained the same coaches as NJ-NY TC, Tom Nohilly and John Trautmann. Later that year, he signed with Nike. While living in New York, he worked as a teacher and coach at The Masters School, a private middle school and high school in Dobbs Ferry, a location that also served as a training base for the Empire Elite Team.[4][5]

Ahead of the 2020 US Olympic Trials, Updike set a personal best and clocked world leading time of 8:17.74 at the USATF Grand Prix at Hayward Field. Back at Hayward two months later for the Trials, he won his first round heat in 8:21.01, advancing him to the finals. Updike led the final for much of the race but ultimately faded, finishing fifth.[6]

In July, he became the second Alaskan man in history to run a sub-four minute mile after Trevor Dunbar, running 3:58.26 in Mission Viejo, California.[7]

2022

In April 2022, Updike took first in the steeplechase at the Penn Relays, but would miss the US Championships due to a bout of COVID-19. After contracting the virus a second time in July, he was forced to shut down his season.[8]

2023

In early 2023, he moved permanently to Flagstaff, Arizona to train with Under Armor's Mission Run Dark Sky team, under coach Steven Haas.

In June 2023, Updike ran a personal best time of 8:17.47 in the 3000 metres steeplechase in Nice, France.[9] In July 2023, he finished third in the US national championships in Eugene, Oregon.[10] He was selected for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023.[11] In contention to qualify for the final, Updike was tripped from behind in his qualifying heat, but was reinstated into the finals after a protest.[12] In the final, he finished sixteenth.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ "Isaac Updike". World Athletics. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  2. ^ Butler, Sarah (6 May 2021). "Top Steeplechaser's Recent Breakthrough Was a Decade in the Making". Runners World. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  3. ^ "From EOU to the Pro Ranks: How Isaac Updike Got to Where He Is". Eastern Oregon University Athletics. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  4. ^ Bragg, Beth (June 18, 2021). "No shoe deal? No problem for Ketchikan runner Isaac Updike, a legitimate contender for the US Olympic team". adn.com. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Coach Is On Track as Olympic Hopeful". The Masters School. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  6. ^ Sjong, Austin (25 June 2021). "Ketchikan's Isaac Updike finishes 2 seconds short of the Olympic team in the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals". Alaskasnewssource.com. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Updike becomes second Alaskan to run 4 minute mile". Alaskasportshall.org. 18 July 2021.
  8. ^ Woody, Doyle (2022-12-02). "Ketchikan runner Isaac Updike is making up for lost time". Alaska Sports Report. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  9. ^ Woody, Doyle (July 6, 2023). "Tales From The Track: Ketchikan's Isaac Updike qualifies for men's steeplechase final at USA Track & Field Championships". Alaskasportsreport.com. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  10. ^ Woody, Doyle (July 10, 2023). "The Long Run: 13 years after he was an NAIA walk-on, steeplechaser Isaac Updike of Ketchikan is headed to World Championships". Alaska Sports Report. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  11. ^ Gault, Jonathan (7 August 2023). "USATF Announces 2023 World Championship Roster". letsrun.com. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  12. ^ Woody, Doyle (19 August 2023). "Isaac Updike's World Championships debut: First, seeming ruin, then relief". Kinyradio.com. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Men's 3000m Steeplechase Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". Watchathletics. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Disappointing World Championships track finish for Ketchikan's Isaac Updike". Juneau Empire. 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2024-05-03.